A Brief History of Cyprus

Venetian Period (1489 - 1571)

The Venetian desire for Cyprus was inspired purely by profit. The
Venetians saw Cyprus primarily as a military base. Anticipating
conflict, they undertook an ambitious plan of fortification.
Famagusta
and
Nicosia were ringed with massive earthworks, cased with stone.
An outer wall was erected around
Kyrenia castle, the gap being filled with earth to form an
artillery rampart. The best military architects in Europe were
brought in to design and execute these projects.

The Venetian Walls of Famagusta

Cypriots were seen merely as a populous to be taxed as much as
possible. The island was well endowed with the timber essential for
shipbuilding, and formed an ideal base from which the Venetians
could dominate trade with the east. They continued to pay the
tribute enforced upon Cyprus by the Mamluks, and when the latter
were conquered by the Ottomans, the tribute was redirected to
Constantinople, the seat of Ottoman power since 1453.

Taking over the leadership of the Ottoman Empire from his father,
Sultan Selim II repeatedly complained to the Venetians and demanded
an end to the piracy in the seas surrounding Cyprus. The Venetians
refused to do this and ignored the demand of Sultan to have full
control of the island.

These relations were exacerbated by the Venetian seizure of
Turkish ships, execution of Turkish corsairs in violation of an
Ottoman-Venetian Treaty, and the continuing presence of Maltese
pirates in Venetian ports harassing Muslim pilgrims and interfering
in general commerce. Therefore, the Sultan decided to intervene and
put an end to this state of affairs, as well as to consolidate the
Ottoman control of the East in general. In 1570, after an ultimatum
had expired, hordes of Ottoman troops landed at Larnaca, under Lala
Mustapha Pasha. Nicosia was besieged, and resisted for six weeks,
refusing terms of honourable surrender on rumours of an approaching
Venetian fleet. The city was eventually taken by storm, and sacked,
20,000 inhabitants being massacred in the process. Kyrenia
capitulated without a struggle.

In October, Lila Mustapha Pasha with an army of 200,000 began the
siege of Famagusta. The beleaguered party received meagre
reinforcements in January 1571, when the Turkish fleet withdrew to
winter anchorage, but after ten months the garrison was reduced to
1500 men, whilst 80,000 Ottoman soldiers had perished. On August
1st, terms of capitulation were agreed between the captain of
Famagusta, Marc Antonio Bragadino, and Lala Mustapha Pasha. However,
a dispute arose and some incautious words by Bragadino resulted in
his being flayed alive. In spite of a naval reversal at Lepanto on
the Adriatic coast on 7 October 1571, Selim's efforts were
successful and the Venetians had to sue for peace.

Later that month Venetian officials handed over the island
together With 300,000 ducats for war reparation.

It is said that Venetian rule was so unpleasant that when the
Ottomans arrived in Cyprus in 1571 the locals felt as if they had
been liberated from slavery.